Those who ride the Lightning - Christmas Special
by FriendlyMushroom
Summary: My name is Wallace Rudolph West. And I'm known by many names. Super Handsome, Kid Flash, Kid Lantern, Speed Force, the Scarlet Speedster, the Flash, you name me. Some even know me as Santa Claus, the Joyest Man Alive. You don't believe me? Then let me tell you the story about how I became Santa Claus. Wally West/Linda Park. Minor Flinx.


**Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas to you all! Actually, not yet, it's not Christmas yet but we are close to. At any rate, I wasn't going to really post this until the day of Christmas. But people is going crazy with the end of the world and all that, and I personally don't think the world will end, but to be in the safe side I'm posting this right now, lol, just kidding.**

**At any rate. Before you start reading this one-shot, I want you people to know this is also a side-story of another story I'm writing by the name of: "Those who ride the Lighting." So, while it is not necessary to read that story to understand this one, those who have read it will understand it a little better.**

**Again for those who didn't understand it: It's not necessary to read: "those who ride the Lighting" to understand this story.**

**At any rate. Enjoy this story. It may start slow and pointlessly, but I actually think it turned out pretty well… I hope. So Merry Christmas to you all, read, enjoy, and have fun!**

**I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC comic character. I don't own Santa Claus either, and yeah I still believe in Santa Claus, lol (He is 25 years old)**

**Quick note: Kiribati, Tarawa, also known as Christmas Island, is the first place in the world to reach a new day, or so says google. So, if at Keystone City it is 7:00am, at Kiribati, Tarawa, it is 11:00pm. There are 18 hours of difference. (You will understand why I place this note when you start reading this story)**

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**Prologue:**

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**Keystone City, Kansas. Western Historic District. December 24, year 2024.**

"Dad? Hey Dad! Hurry up Dad! It's time for Christmas Eve's breakfast!" Her name is Iris Kiyo West the Second, and she is daughter of Wallace Rudolph West and Linda Jasmine Park. But they are all better known by their heroic, and in some cases, not so heroic names. To the hero community, her name is Impulse II, the Fastest Girl Alive, and she is daughter to the third Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, and unknown for the 12 years old girl, she is also daughter of Jinx, the sorcerer of chaos magic, although that is a name her mother uses no more. "Dad! Wake up! You have been sleeping all day! I wanna open the presents, I wanna play with you! I want you to tell me a Christmas Story!" The 12 years old girl was currently trying to wake her father up. But the 35 years old hero was nowhere near ready to wake up and just curled inside of his covers. "Seriously! You are truly lazy!" She complained, and then moved her orange pigtails away from her face out of annoyance and walked out of her father's room. "Jai! I need your help with something!" She added out of annoyance, and then a dark haired 12 years old walked toward her. "Dad won't wake up, and in my opinion, being forced to wake up at 2:00am is unfair enough for Dad to sleep through it." She explained, and Jai nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we must be the only family in the whole world who got Christmas Eve breakfast instead of Christmas Eve dinner." Jai Bartholomew West is Iris' twin brother, although he was born far different from his sister. For starters, he didn't have super-speed. The reasons were because his powers came from a different nature than his sister's or father's one. Wally blamed his wife for the genetics, since in secret, she was a sorcerer of chaotic energies, which lead into Jai developing chaotic powers and the name of Chaotic. "Sorry Dad, but if we can't sleep, neither can you." The teen added. And then, bolts of electricity surrounded his arms as hexes of golden energy. Suddenly, his thin arms grew muscles, and his body became well body-built, and so, with his strange powers, he pressed his hands against the corners of Wally's bed, and rudely launched it up, forcing Wally to wake up abruptly after being launched like that.

"What was that?" Wally complained, and then faced his two powered-up children in disgust. "Very funny! You two know I need my 18 hours of sleep once a week. I burn too much energy running all around the world you know!" He complained, and both of his kids just smirked at him. "For the love of the Speed Force." And then he suddenly freaked out. "What time is it? What day is it?" He complained, and then heard the sound of footsteps entering his room.

"Don't worry honey. It's 6:13 pm at Kiribati, Tarawa." Her name is Linda Jasmine Park, and she is Wally West's wife, and as was usual for her, a really mature and calm woman, far different from her childish and immature husband. "Aren't you lucky to have me as your wife? You still got five hours before your special mission starts." She mentioned, and Wally smiled hard at that last and rushed toward his wife and pulled her into a kiss.

"Eww! Not in front of the children!" Iris complained while sticking her tongue out of annoyance. "Adults kissing is so gross!" She continued complaining.

"Seriously Dad! You will break my mental stability like that!" Jai complained as well, being more disgusted than his sister for obvious reasons. "Why are our parents so gross and weird? What's so cool about seeing grownups kissing? I'm never kissing a girl, not ever!" And both Wally and Linda laughed at that last.

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**Teen Titans Spin-Off Series: The Flash (Christmas Special).**

**Christmas Special: Merry Scarlet Christmas.**

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"Come on! The faster we eat, the faster we will open our interchange-presents! And you all know how fast we can eat!" Iris mentioned, but she was then smacked at the back of her head by someone, who then rested his hand at her head, using her as a support. "Uncle Bart! Stop that!" She complained, and everyone laughed at the girl.

"Says who, dwarf?" The teen mentioned with enthusiasm. "Santa Claus isn't going to give you any presents this year. After all, you are an awful girl. You surely are in the naughty list." His name is Bart Allen, and he is currently known as Kid Flash despite being 22 years old already. Bart Allen got a strange story. For starters, he comes from the 30th century. Also, he ages differently than other speedsters. In reality he should be around 30 years old, but his metabolism kept him a child for much longer, and he is only recently reaching his biological 22 years of age. "Know your place, sidekick."

"I'm not your sidekick! I'm his sidekick! But he won't let me help him!" She complained while pointing at her father. "Why won't you allow me to crime-fight with you, Dad? It's so unfair! You are always training Jai! You never train me!"

"Bart is the Flash when I say he can be the Flash. And when he wears the costume you are his sidekick." Wally mentioned and sat by his chair, and then Bart stuck his tongue out at Iris, who bit her lips in annoyance and then kicked Bart hard at his ankle. "Iris?" Wally complained.

"I'm faster than him! How can I be sidekick of someone who is slower than I am? One day I will take the Flash costume from you! I will be the Flash!" She yelled out of annoyance toward Bart, who faced her back in annoyance. "I wanna crime fight with you, Dad! I don't know for how long will you be the Flash, and before Bart becomes the full-time Flash, I want to have the opportunity of fighting by your side!"

"Iris, the day Bart becomes the Flash I'm going to be wearing the silver helmet of Jay Garrick." Wally mentioned, and then walked toward a man in a wheel-chair, the original Flash, the first of them all. "I'm never going into full-time retirement. You will beg me not to be the Flash. And I'm sure Bart will find another name before actually becoming the fourth Flash full time." He explained while placing his arm at Jay Garrick's shoulder.

"Indeed. Never forget we speedsters age differently." Jay Garrick mentioned. "Wally may be 35 years old but he looks like 20. Heck, Bart is 22 and he looks like 17! And I am 105 years old, and only now I look like if I were 60. Your Father will wear the same costume for about another 30 years I presume. As for Bart, he really needs a costume change before he really looks like and adult wearing a flashy yellow costume." Jay explained.

"I'm going for Speed Force, or Fast Forward! Being honest, I wouldn't imagine a world without your father being the Flash." Bart continued, and Iris smiled hard at the conversation. "Of course wearing the Flash costume every now and then when Wally wants some vacations is very cool, but I wanna be my own hero, just like my friends from the Young Justice! Nigthwing for example and what about Arsenal?"

"Enough talking about legacies. The turkey is ready, and Jay is falling asleep." Linda mentioned while pointing at the old man at the wheel chair. And then her son, Jai, arrived while carrying the huge turkey toward the table with one of his muscled arms. Iris in the other hand just readied the table in the blink of an eye, and everyone went ready for the Christmas Eve breakfast. "Careful there. Remember my turkey is spicy. Just the way Wally, Jai and Bart like it. There is a half with less spicy flavor for Grandpa Jay and Iris." Linda explained, while everyone at the table began tearing the turkey apart in hunger. "No speed eating!" She complained. And everyone lowered their heads and got ready to eat their food at normal speed. "This year is Bart's turn to do the blessings."

"What? Why me?" Bart complained. Saliva was already falling from his lips as he wanted to eat right away. "Thank you got for the food! Can we eat now?" And Linda glared at him in annoyance. "Aw, come on! We can say thank you later! Wally got to go in a few hours!"

"We need to go in a few hours, remember?" And Bart flinched at that revelation. "It's a tradition, and Iris can't come with me yet, she is too young." And Iris blinked twice at that last while she speed-steal a bite from her turkey. "Never mind that. I will do the blessings." Wally began, and everyone went into prayer positions. "Thank you God for another year of familiar unity and health. In our line of duty, it is all we have to keep on living day by day. Thank you for our friends, thank you for our memories, thank you for the legacies we follow and for the strength in our hearts. Bless those who are now gone, and thank you for keeping their memories alive… amen." And everyone smiled after the blessings, and they began eating, all minus Wally, who Linda stared at in confusion. "…Thanks for another Christmas with my daughter before her great adventure…" He whispered, and Linda took his hand carefully, Iris just chomped her turkey and faced her parents in confusion a second time.

"What time is it at Kiribati Tarawa again?" Bart wondered while speed eating, to which Linda replied by smacking him hard in the back of his head. "Gackt! Sorry! I'm impatient! It is the most important mission ever and I don't wanna be late for it!"

"Mission?" Iris wondered. And this time it was Wally the one rushing to Bart's side and smacking him hard. "What mission? Dad! Are you going out on a mission on Christmas Eve? Not fair! You never are home on Christmas Eve! What is so important you can't stay with us on Christmas Eve?" She complained, and Wally just sweat dropped and then smacked Bart once again.

"Ouch! What? It's not a big deal! Why can't you admit to your daughter that you are Santa Claus?" And everyone at the table went into silence, and both Iris and Jai faced Wally with concern. "Eh? Did I say that last out loud?" And Wally slapped his own forehead hard. "Sorry!"

"Great job Bart! I was going to tell them after Iris' had returned from the past you fool!" Wally yelled in a whisper, and Bart lowered his head ashamed. "Great… now I will have to spend the rest of Christmas Eve doing the explanations. Can we speed eat, Linda?" Wally asked, and Linda breathed out in defeat, took some turkey in her plate, and stood up and walked toward the sofa while nodding in agreement. Everyone then speed-ate their turkey and fixed themselves by the living room, and close to the chimney. "Woah! Speed eating something spicy really hurts!" Wally complained, and Linda giggled a little and then sat down by the sofa. "Fine… now that we all ate something, I'm going to tell you a secret none of your friends should ever know. Got it?" And both Jai and Iris nodded in agreement, and Wally then took a deep breathe. "I'm Santa Claus." He added, and the twins blinked twice and exchanged looks. "I'm serious, I'm Santa Claus!"

"Dad… Santa Claus is really fat and got a long white beard. You are not Santa Claus." And Bart began laughing, but was then smacked hard by Wally. "Or is it one of those jokes other kids our age make about Santa Claus. They say he doesn't exist."

"Santa Claus exists! I'm Santa Claus! I have been Santa Claus almost as long as I have been the Flash!" He admitted. But once again the twins didn't believe it. "For the love of the Grinch… Every Christmas Eve at seven in the morning I mysteriously disappear because I run all around the world delivering presents to children, starting with Aabel Aariah, who is the first one in the list by the way, and who lives at the Kiribati City at Tarawa! I'm Santa Claus!" And both gave their father an odd stare. "They don't believe me… Bart is my Elf!" And they made fun of Bart.

"No… I'm really his Elf." Bart mentioned. And both Jai and Iris burst into laughter. "They aren't going to believe you anyway. Tell them the complete story of how the Flash saved Christmas." Bart began. "I mean, Iris was there…" But Jay Garrick then covered his mouth at sound speed.

"I didn't save Christmas. I was hired by Wayne Tech to do deliveries." And both Iris and Jai crossed their arms in annoyance not really believing anything their father was telling them. "How can I explain this so it makes sense?"

"First of all, you don't mention you know who." Linda pointed out, and both of their children exchanged looks. "Iris is already 12 years old. She could be gone any second now, so be careful with what you say." She whispered to Wally, who nodded in agreement. "Think about something."

"Right, I got it, I got it." And Wally lowered his head hard, rubbed his chin, and began thinking about what to say. Everyone smiled warmly at him while doing memory. The twins, whoever, were growing impatient. "Fine. This story begins almost half a year after I became the Flash. Back then, Bart was simply known as Impulse, and I was new to the Flash name and still getting used to the idea of belonging to the big leagues." And both twins nodded in agreement at the same time, which was something Wally enjoyed watching. "I wasn't of age to have a job, and lived with Jay and Joan, God bless her in heaven." He added, and Jay smiled remembering his late wife. And Linda lived with us for reasons you don't have to know yet." And Iris raised an eyebrow at that last. "Anyway. During a mission, Jay got hurt. He broke his arm and one of his legs and was staying at the hospital with Joan taking care of him. And while they were busy caring about Jay's health, Linda and I had our first non-marital problems."

**Keystone City, Kansas. Western Historic District. November 24, year 2005.**

"It doesn't matter how many times you open the fridge's door, honey. Nothing will appear inside regardless of your insistence. The Fridge is truly empty." Linda was 13 years old. But she already behaved as annoying and knowing-all as she does today… ouch! Sorry honey. What I'm trying to say is, she cooked, she cleaned, but mostly cooked. And one day when I arrived home after fighting some ninjas calling themselves the Thunderbolt Agents, Linda wasn't cooking, and there was no food in the fridge. "Our savings are done for. You need to get a job."

"A Job? I'm 16 years old! And enough work I have with classes, being a hero, and taking care of those two monsters." And with two I meant Bart and… his… umm… imaginary friend he was always tagging along with. "I'm starving already. Isn't there enough money to at least order a pizza?" It was a crisis. With Jay at the hospital for almost half a year already, no one worked to bring money home. And when you eat as much as we speedsters do, no matter how much money you save, you will always be money-lacking. "I'm done for… maybe if I go with the Titans they will feel pity of me and give me something to eat."

"My future husband isn't going to be a jobless hero. You better get a job and quick." Even back then we knew we would end married… don't ask. "Bart, go to the store and buy a newspaper. And please, don't speed-burn it with the friction." She gave some money to Bart, back then he was 12 years old. I know, the math's doesn't sound right, but he aged slower than us, that's why he is 22 nowadays instead of 32. He left in a flash and returned in the blink of an eye with a half burned newspaper. The kid couldn't control his powers yet. "At least it is still readable… to be fair, I will get a part-time job too as a journalist. But you really need to help too, the amount of food you eat is horrifying expensive."

"So are your Indian and Korean dishes! Can't you prepare something more American-like? You know, something not healthy but cheap." Arguments were really often between us, but she was right after all. No job, equals no food. But there was a bigger problem. "Linda… I got a public identity… everyone wants to hire Wally West because he is the Flash. But I will get fired two days after when one of my enemies tries to kill me at job! I can't work with a public identity."

"Oh, but you wanted to go with a public identity, didn't you?" And on and on with the arguing. "Seriously, Wally. I can't have a normal day without worrying about the next super villain attacking our home. 3 months ago, my own toaster attacked me!" And it would have continued like that if lady luck hadn't butted in and prevented me from starting another fight with Linda. The phone began ringing, and since Linda was a guest in our home, she never answered the call, so I got the phone. "Maybe you can get a job as a mechanic. You like fixing things."

"Can we please not talk about our money problems for now?" Little did I know my life was going to change abruptly after that call. "Eh? Mr. Wayne?" There was silence. The one at the other side of the line, the one calling my phone, was no one other than Bruce Wayne. The billionaire owner of Wayne Tech. Upon hearing the name, Linda stopped bickering. And Bart and… his imaginary friend… stopped playing videogames and rushed toward the kitchen. "No, I'm just surprised you know my phone number… wait, how do I place the loud speaker here?" It was really important, and I wanted everyone to know what was going on, so I placed Mr. Wayne in the loud speaker.

"I heard from a source close to you, that you are having some issues with money, Mr. West." He mentioned. Even now I got no freaking idea about how he found out about my money problems. But then again, he was Bruce Wayne. Maybe he got all of our phone lines hacked and he could spy our conversations. "I got a solution for your problems, Mr. West. What would you say if, for a single job, Wayne Tech would be the responsible of your expenses of the whole year? Only of food of course." Just imagine my face when I heard that last.

"I would say maybe it is a job for Superman, not for the Flash." Oh but I always had to say something stupid. "If it is a dangerous job that needs of the Flash, Mr. Wayne, I work for free. That's what heroes do. So if you got a problem, I'm afraid I will have to do it for free."

"I admire your sincerity, Mr. West. But I think the line between heroes and villains is too slim nowadays. And I believe that if heroes were paid handsomely for their services, there would be fewer criminals in the streets." I of course wanted to complain. I needed no money to be a hero, that's not the reason of why I was a hero anyway. It was deeper, it was a sense of justice, not the wish to be popular and have money, it was the right thing to do. And yet, just as some freaking shadowed hero-vigilante I know and work with at the Justice League. Bruce Wayne always won at every freaking conversation we had. "Besides… you are one of the few heroes who goes for a public identity… I find it unlikely that you will get a job to feed your metabolism, and your loved ones… so I suggest you don't take my offer lightly. Who else will give you a job anyway?" He got me there. My brain wasn't at all working correctly when I decided to go for a public identity anyway. "So… if you are interested. Come to Gotham City and meet me there. I will be in my office." That alone gave me all the answers I needed. I picked Linda up, called Bart and… his imaginary friend… and we all rushed to Gotham City.

**Gotham City, New Jersey. November 24, year 2005.**

"Fine, I'm here." I added coldly. Somehow I was annoyed since I felt I was being controlled. So I slowly placed Linda down after crossing almost all of the United States in the blink of an eye, and vibrating through all Wayne Tech in search of Bruce Wayne's office, which of course got Linda awfully mad at me and dizzy enough for her not to start yelling at me. Bart and his imaginary friend just helped Linda toward the sofa, while I spoke to Mr. Wayne. "Called the Flash?" I added coldly, took my ring out and released my costume from inside and got dressed in the scarlet costume. "If it is something illegal, Mr. Wayne, I'm not doing it."

"Illegal?" He began. "I admit it may sound a little illegal and all that. After all, I'm going to ask you to break inside billions of billions of homes. But since you already broke inside of my building, I guess you won't see it as something illegal." And he got me again. I broke inside of his office without the procedure, so technically, I was invading private property. "Mr. West… do you believe in Santa Claus?" Wait, what? You got it, his question freaked me out, but Bart and his imaginary friend just faced Bruce Wayne with smiles on their faces. "What if I told you Santa Claus is real… more real than you would ever imagine… but he is old and tired, and wants to retire… would you believe it…?" Of course not!

"Oooookaaaaay… I will just leave and pretend nothing of this ever happened. Have a nice day, Mr. Wayne." I apologized, and helped Linda up. I then got ready to rush my way out, whatever happened to the mental stability of Bruce Wayne eluded me, but back then he sounded just crazy.

"I will pay you one million dollars only for you to stay and hear everything I have to say." He offered, and of course I froze there with Linda in my arms. "Effective, no checks." He then took a briefcase out, and showed the money to me. Of course my jaw dropped in that very moment. No matter how good I was, that was an offer I couldn't resist.

"You stay and hear what the mad millionaire got to say!" But of course, if there was someone greedier than I was, it was Linda, who then left my arms and pushed me toward the desk and forced me to sit down.

"Billionaire." Bruce Wayne corrected. "But that's only the number I reveal to the public. Mr. West, in reality, I am the richest person in the whole world. Because I got many different names, and own many different business. I even pay for the Teen Titans' expenses." And man did the Teen Titans have some cool technology I could only dream about having. "You can think of it as a joke, or not. I really don't care. I got more problems to worry about than in your believes about Santa Claus or not. But I believe that this world is polluted by criminal minds, and most criminals share something in common. They all had horrible childhoods. So… if I could give some hope to those children. Even using an unprofessional excuse as the belief in Santa Claus. I would use it, if it meant having fewer criminals in the world, and more citizens believing in there being kindness in the hearts of people."

"So… you want me to run to the North Pole and search for Santa Claus?" Everything sounded so stupid, even for me! And that's saying too much. "Mr. Wayne, I'm afraid I'm growing worried about your mental stability. Maybe you are working too hard." Linda of course just pulled my ear hard. She was more worried about the money than anything.

"I'm offering you a handsomely paid job. Mr. West. I don't need the Flash, I need a Santa Claus. I'm hiring you to be that Santa Claus." Stupidest job offer ever! "Only you got the speed to travel all around the world in only a day. Breaking into everyone's homes, and placing presents below their trees and giving a Merry Christmas to everyone worldwide. Lightening the hopes of children, helping them to believe in kindness and compassion. And in my opinion, lowering the criminal rate."

"Woah! You are not serious. You are really asking me to be Santa Claus?" And Bruce Wayne nodded. He was serious. "So… in theory, you want me to run all around the world, in only a day, and deliver presents to every child around the world? In only ONE day? Mr. Wayne, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not that fast. I move at the speed of light but I need momentum to do it so. It's impossible! And where will I get that many presents? You can't actually store them in a single place, let's say the North Pole." I added with sarcasm. "It would mean returning to one point, grabbing the presents, and then returning to wherever in the world I was needed to deliver the presents at."

"Got it covered." He replied, and then he turned the lights off from his desk, and a hologram with planet Earth appeared in the middle of the room… I hate rich people. Bruce Wayne is a showoff. "As I told you, I owe many companies… worldwide." And many dots appeared all around the map. "There is a Wayne Tech at every city you can think off. Even some on cities whose names you would never be able to pronounce correctly… all you need to do is get the presents from those buildings, and deliver them. The presents will be random of course, but popular toys, video games, action figures. But no clothes, and no weapons. Only harmless toys… and some coal hidden inside some toys. But everyone gets a toy."

"Ok, fine, so maybe there is a place to fill Santa's sag nearby. But how am I going to know what places, and what homes? Or if I accidentally skipped a home?" It was impossible. I knew it. Just imagining it was madness. "If I run around the world with a list of nice and naughty, even if I reached the needed speed, it would burn in my hands."

"Nowadays we don't use lists. You will use these special Wayne-Tech visors." He explained and took out from his desk some high-technology yellow goggles. And when he placed them on my head, I could see names at the right side of the screen, as well as a map and addresses. The info moved so fast only I could read it. Coolest thing ever. "The map will lead the way. It will tell you how many kids live in each home, and how many presents to leave at each tree. Now, as for the presents, they will be sprayed with a substance, also Wayne-Tech, that will make the presents shine a bright blue to your visor's view. So, every home with a blue dot is ready. If when exiting the city, there is a home with no blue dots, the visor will point you toward it."

"How in the world did you create such a thing? Is it alien technology?" And he nodded. "First I deal with the Santa Claus dilemma, after with Martians or Kryptonians. One mind blowing discovery at a time please." I was childish of course. I truly didn't want to do it. "What about my energy? I need tons of food to be able to run all around the world in a single night." But as I suspected, Bruce already got the answer. "I'm not going to be eating cookies from the children at every home?"

"Oh, those will help." Very funny Mr. Wayne. "But we will have food at every Wayne-Tech building. Everything from energy drinks to vitamins and medicines in case you catch a cold. Everything is covered, Mr. West. Well… except Rudolph, Wayne-Tech doesn't experiment with animals."

"Forget about Rudolph. Why do you think I'm fast enough to do this?" It wasn't a race, there was no competition. This wasn't like all those times I had to run for my life. There was no motivation but the feeling of doing good. Yet, that alone was enough. "You really think I'm that fast? I mean. I'm the Fastest Man Alive but in one day?"

"You are as fast as you wish to be. But just in case, you can get the help of an elf and a reindeer." He mentioned while staring at Impulse and… ah… well, just at Impulse. "As for your payment. How does 5 million dollars a year for only one day of work sounds?" And Linda immediately stared at me with greedy eyes. "If you sight these papers, it will be official, whether you are able to deliver all the presents or not in time." And he placed the papers in front of me. "So, what do you say, Mr. West?"

"I just have one thing to say." I mentioned with an emotionless stare. "Ho-ho-ho." And then I signed the papers. "You got yourself a Santa Claus, Mr. Wayne."

**Keystone City, Kansas. Western Historic District. December 24, year 2024.**

"And that's the story of how I became Santa Claus." Wally mentioned with a smile on his face, and both twins exchanged looks. "End of story. What time is it at Kiribati Tarawa again?" He began, and Linda just milled at him.

"Wait, what? No! You can't end your story just like that!" Iris complained, and so did Jai, who stood up with her. "Made up story or not, you got to finish it! It's fun to hear you making out all this!" Iris mentioned, and Wally lowered his head in negation.

"Yeah! I don't care about how crazy it sounds and how much detail you place into the explanation. There is no Christmas Special story on the television without a how it happened example!" Jai continued, and both twins began facing their father with anticipation.

"All right, I will continue. But Lady Claus here needs to give me some hot chocolate first. My throat is complaining already." And Linda just rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Aw, come on! This Santa Claus only gets cookies and milk at each home I visit. And if there is hot chocolate, it's cold! Please, Lady Claus."

"Very funny, Santa. I don't like it when you call me Lady Claus. It makes me feel old." She mentioned. And yet she went to the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate for her husband, who smiled childishly. "This years present better be good, Santa!"

"I don't pick the presents, I just deliver them." And then Wally faced the watch. "I still got some time left. Right, Santa's little helper?" He joked while pointing at Bart, who faced him in annoyance. "You will wear the costume."

"What? I'm 22 years old and still wearing the Kid Flash costume! Why should I wear the elven costume as well! Talking about embarrassment! I want to be Santa Claus this year!" And Wally moved his head in negation, Iris then laughed at Bart, who then faced her in annoyance. "Laugh all you want, but one day you will wear Rudolph's antlers and a shiny red nose."

"Whatever, I will just continue. Or else we won't make it in time." And both Iris and Jai climbed to their father's lap. "Aren't you two a little old for sitting in my lap, specially you, Jai, you are heavy." But Iris and Jai just hugged their father hard. "Fine… as I was saying, I was now Santa Claus, by contract, but Bart was my elf, and getting him dressed in his costume wasn't at all easy.

**Gotham City, New Jersey. December 24, year 2005.**

"No way! I'm not wearing that stinky costume! I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I hate this videogame so much!" Back then Bart thought we lived inside of a videogame by the way. "Not fair! I can't be the Flash, and now I can't be Santa Claus! Why do you always monopolize the good characters? It's not fair!"

"Because the red costume looks better on me. Both red costumes." It was already Christmas Eve, at 6:30am in the morning, and I was wearing a Santa Claus costume instead of the usual Flash one. "This thing is too hot. I wonder… will it really not get burned by friction… I got my doubts. Because I could be close to becoming the fastest fireball alive."

"It will resist the friction, do not worry." Bruce Wayne was even there to see us depart, and to help me force Bart into his costume. "No costume, no deal, no money for Santa Claus." He mentioned, and then I tried to force Bart into the costume. "If any kid discovers you without the costume, you will ruin the illusion. So you need to wear the costume."

"No way! I don't wanna! There is no way in hell I'm wearing those green tights and that stupid hat and those pointy ears!" But in the end I forced him to. "Not fair! You don't have to wear tights! I feel like a ballet dancer!"

"Rudolph is not complaining… she actually likes the antlers." Wait, no… ok so maybe I can see Bart's imaginary friend too… blame it on me for playing along. "It's almost 7:00 am, we need to move it. Don't wait for us awake, Linda, we may not make it back for Christmas Eve in time."

"Yeah… well… we can have a Christmas breakfast tomorrow… can I go to sleep now… by the way… how am I going to make it back home when you took me here for the departure." That day I woke Linda up and forced her to Gotham, and I hadn't thought about her returning ticket. I was going to be busy. There was no time to waste at all. "I will call Jay so he comes for me, don't worry, just be careful. And beware of polar bears. Those are evil." She even dared joking.

"There are no polar bears on Kiribati Tarawa." I continued with the joke. "Man, how did Santa do all this in a single day? I don't even know if I'm mentally prepared for this. In theory, we have only one hour per time zone to deliver the presents. So no jokes Bart, I need my elf and Rudolph working hard to do this."

"I bet I can deliver more presents than Rudolph does!" And he began an argument with his imaginary friend, as usual, but that's not important for the moment, I'm not entering that much detail. "You will see, Rudolph! I will deliver more presents than you do, and score more points! And once I level up enough, I will make sure I'm Santa Claus next year."

"If there is a next year. I signed a one year contract only." And time was already running out. "Whish me luck, Lady Claus." I joked, and then kissed her softly before the hardest race ever began, the race against time. "Let's go, elf, Rudolph, activate your visors, the route is on the map." And just like that, I was Santa Claus on my very first Christmas Delivery Race. "Remember, this is no game. As stupid as it sounds, we are playing Santa Claus." And we began running. There were no reindeers… except for Rudolph of course. We didn't have a list, and our present-bag wasn't that big. But somehow I thought it was possible. After all, there are always miracles in Christmas.

**Kiribati, Tarawa.**

"Reaching Kiribati, Tarawa, also known as Christmas Island!" I yelled upon our arrival to the coasts of the beach-like city. "Ho-ho-ho everyone! We are truly playing Santa Claus here!"

"I'm going to deliver more presents than Rudolph! I will take the north section!" At first it looked easy of course. We vibrated through the walls, searched for the pine, if there was any, placed the presents inside, vibrated out, and hit the next house. Sounds simple, doesn't it? At least we didn't have to enter down a chimney, and there were cookies and milk, and man was I starving that night, same as Bart, who devoured every cookie he could find, adding more sugar to his forever imperative self.

Since Kiribati, was an island of Australia, it didn't take us that much to finish the deliveries there. But then again, it only looked simple, while in reality it was harder than we had expected.

"Ran out of presents! I'm going to Wayne-Tech." The Wayne-Tech's were displayed on our maps, and it only took us a few seconds to go there, find the presents already waiting there for us to fill our bags, and then rush back to the delivery. "Move your butt, slowpoke. I'm almost done with half of the city. Rudolph is doing a better job than you are."

"You just say that because Rudolph is your daughter." Umm… forget I mentioned that last. "Besides! The sand is slowing me down!" And it was true. Already at our first city the sand was entering our boots. Remember not everywhere in the world snows. "By the way, can I open a present for me?"

"Concentrate, Bart, this is only the first city and I don't want troubles." We finished Kiribato in a few minutes. While at Keystone City it was 7:00am, at Kiribati it was 11:00pm, so you can imagine how against the time we were. But it didn't worry us. We really thought we were fast enough. And we were using our powers wrongly. Since it suddenly turned into a competition.

**Tokyo, Japan.**

"This is great! We aren't just in a city, this is THE CITY! We are in manga-land!" Yeah, he was that stupid. Still is by the way. "Can we stop by and buy some mangas? Maybe some nice costumes for cosplaying! Come on Rudolph! I know you want to!"

"You can visit Japan any other time. Today we need to find Wayne-Tech Tokyo to refill our bags and start the delivery all around Japan." Finding Wayne-Tech all around the world wasn't hard. With or without the maps it was a simple run all around the city to enter the building, pick the presents, and continue with the deliveries. "Come one elf and Rudolph. You both can do better than this. I'm already finished with Tokyo, next stop is Otawa." My mistake was to turn this into a game. I didn't notice it back then, but I was already losing my air. "I bet I can finish with all the present delivery at Otawa before you can even finish at Tokyo." Fastest man alive on my feet. Sadly not in my brain.

**Nueva Delhi, India.**

"I told you I could… finish India before… you caught up." My lungs felt like exploding, I was exhausted. And when finishing the delivery on India we only had less than one fourth of the planet delivered. And we were already done for, we had a two hours delay. "How is it possible I feel this tired? We have been running as fast as we can but I never run out of energy this fast."

"We are resting too much! We better keep on running!" The problem was, that running all around the world in a straight line with no stops, helps you to ignore the height changes. In a microsecond you are sea level, and the next one you are mountain level, at the speed we move we barely notice. But back then we were staying at each city longer than usual, and doing deliveries, our bodies were attacked by the constant change of heights, and also, our competition was tiring us even more. We were lacking air. "Let's go!"

"Not yet… we need to recover some energy… only one fourth of the world got their presents, and if we don't rest, we won't make it… no matter of how fast we run… we are no Superman, we are speedsters. We need to manage our energy." We decided to take it all with more calm.

**Rome, Italy.**

It wasn't until we arrived to Rome when we could finally catch up to the lost time. Even when we had to stop by at Wayne-Tech Italy, to eat something. We were starving.

"These are not pizzas! They are just a flat piece of bread with tomato! It doesn't even have enough cheese!" I remember Bart complaining. At Wayne-Tech there was always food for when we were hungry. Mostly energy drinks and vitamins. But every now and then there were dishes from the country, as well as cookies and milk… I was already sick of cookies and milk! No wonder Santa was so fat! It's kid's fault! "I want real pizza!"

"Eat whatever you can find and stop complaining. Pizza on America is industrialized, it doesn't taste the same way, you know." Once finishing eating, we would rush once again. Sometimes after speed-eating we got speed-cramps, but well, it was a sacrifice we had to tolerate. Half of the world still needed their presents, and we were barely in time.

**Dakar, Senegal.**

"I can't keep going." Bart complained while we both vibrated out of one of the houses of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, the last city of Africa we had to visit. We had finished deliveries on Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa already. All that was left was America, and that alone was depressing since we were all tired. "I will retire if Rudolph retires too. I'm that tired."

"Retire? We can't retire! How am I going to tell Bruce Wayne that only America didn't get the presents? Forget about that! We are playing Santa Claus now! I'm Santa Claus now! And unless the Grinch comes here with a bazooka on his hands and trying to steal the Christmas Spirit with Mr. Scrooge as his sidekick, I'm not giving up!" It was no longer a game. It was serious. More than half of the world was now waking up with their presents, they were happy. At Kiribati it surely was already getting dark and kids with smiles on their faces were refusing to go to sleep in order to play for a while longer. If I didn't continue running, I would be negating that fun to the kids of America. "We can't give up. This isn't like not finding an Easter egg, or Halloween which is only for the candies. It's Christmas. And even if most of the world sees it as materialism, Bruce Wayne is right. The joy of children can help them into becoming good adults. The world needs Santa Claus, and I swear I will be that Santa Claus. So let's go, elf, Rudolph! We got America to finish." And the race continued.

**Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.**

We were already slowed down by our sore muscles. But giving up wasn't an option. There wasn't even time for jokes or to waste complaining about the food. We would just run to the vitamins, and ignore traditional dishes from Brazil, just to keep on running and delivering presents.

The Santa bag was already feeling heavier. We hadn't stopped running in a while. But only thinking about the children gave us strength. We tapped several times into the Speed Force to gain some momentum. It was dangerous. If we weren't careful, we could be swallowed by the Speed Force. But we kept on running.

**Otawa, Canada.**

The terrains of the cities and the snowy pines became more and more usual with each passing second. It was enough to feel jolly once again. But there was another problem. Neither my elf or Rudolph got the endurance I had. I noticed it at Canada, they were slowing down. And I ended carrying them all toward Keystone City.

**Keystone City, Kansas.**

"Wally? What's wrong? Are you finished?" Linda of course woke up when she heard me arrive. I placed Bart and Ir… I mean… Rudolph back on their beds, and then I fell to the floor extremely tired. "Honey? Are you well? Maybe you need something to eat."

"No… if I see another cookie I will throw out." I admitted and took my Santa hat off. "We finished South America's delivery… but I'm totally worn out… Almost all of Mexico is left, and half of the United States and Canada… but I can't keep on running… my boots are going to melt if I give another step." I admitted. It was the hardest Christmas Eve ever. It was eternal for me. "I can't ask them to continue… they followed me as much as they could… it doesn't sound like much is left, but the cities that are left are really big… I don't know if I can continue."

"Well… it's not like I can force you to continue. Even you got limits." I sure did, even if most of the time I acted as if everything was a giant piece of cake. "You only have one hour left, but it is an eternity to you… you did your best." And then she helped me up. "Come… I will help you back to bed." But something was wrong.

"Wait… what? Aren't you going to try to convince me to continue?" Linda usually would give me some words of convincement. She loves telling me I can do better, but this time she wasn't. "You don't believe I can do this, do you?"

"I believe you can. But it doesn't matter what I believe if you don't believe you can. So if you reached your limit, there is no use on keep going." She was so manipulative. She surely knew how to lower my self-stem some times. "No one will blame you for giving up right now."

"I will blame myself. And you know it." And I obviously fell on her game. "It's only one hour, and once I make it back, you will be sorry for doubting me." And she just smiled. "Man! If that fatso of Santa Claus can do it, then so can I! I'm Santa Claus now!"

"Not without your hat." She mentioned and placed my hat on. "Now, don't forget to place my presents bellow the tree before you leave. I have been a nice girl!" She added with enthusiasm.

"You sure? Because I think I saw you at the naughty list." Umm… got carried away, I better continue. "I'm leaving then. Don't wait for me awake." And just when I made it out of the room, a couple of tornados made it out as well.

"You didn't think you were going to leave your elf behind, did you?" Bart woke up and got ready for more running. "And Rudolph is going too! Santa, Rudolph and the Elf are ready for more fun! And Linda can be Frosty the snowman."

"No… I'm fine being Lady Claus staying back home and inside my warm covers at bed while my husband works." And she returned to her bed. "Now, kids aren't supposed to talk to Santa Claus, so you better leave before I don't get any presents and start behaving like the Grinch."

**Keystone City, Kansas. Western Historic District. December 24, year 2024.**

"So we got ready to leave and…" Wally tried to continue, but then they all heard Linda clearing her throat. "What? Wait, it can't be time already." And she nodded in agreement and took from out of a present bag the Santa costume. "Aw… but Lady Claus!"

"Right now I'm the Grinch, so get your costume on and get on the run." She complained, and Wally took a deep breath and then got dressed in the Santa Claus costume in the blink of an eye. "You too Bart. Santa Claus needs his Elf."

"Frosty! This year I'm going as Frosty!" He complained. But Linda delivered an elf costume to him. "I hate this costume so much." And with a spin, he got dressed as an Elf. "Now, let's go before I got second thoughts about this."

"Wait! What? Quit the jokes you two! Just finish the story!" Iris complained, same as Jai, and both Wally and Bart exchanged looks. "No one truly believes you are Santa and the Elf and that you got an imaginary Rudolph companion. Just finish the story."

"Yeah." Jai continued. "Besides! What is so important that every year you leave at 7:00am of Christmas Eve." Jai pointed out, and everyone lowered their heads at that last. "You don't seriously think we believe you go delivering presents all around the world starting with…"

"Aabel Aariah Jr. Of Kiribati, Tarawa." Both added in annoyance, and the twins didn't believe it at all. "Oh well… I'm fine with you believing it was just a made out story. You will understand it soon, Rudolph." Wally mentioned, and Bart grinned at that last. "We are leaving, Lady Claus. Don't wait for us awake."

"I never do." And in the blink of an eye, both were gone, and both Jai and Iris faced their mother with concern. "Kids. You both got superpowers. So, how hard is it to believe your father is Santa Claus?" She asked, and both exchanged looks. "It doesn't matter. Jai will have to believe it on his own, but you, Iris, you will actually live it. So trust me when I tell you, that one day, you will believe in Santa Claus regardless of how old you are." And Linda kissed her daughter's forehead softly. "After all. Rudolph wasn't Bart's imaginary friend." And both twins exchanged looks.

**Samoa. December 24, year 2005.**

"Ah! Only ten seconds for December 25! Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!" What Iris Kiyo West the Second didn't know at all when she heard the story from her father's lips, was that she would accidentally travel from year 2024, on New Year's Eve, to year 2005, a second after New Year had finally arrived. And she would have a great adventure with her father on that timeline. She had been trapped in the past for almost a year, and today, she was Rudolph, the imaginary friend of Bart. "Need more presents!"

"Then stop complaining and go get them, Rudolph!" Bart complained and followed the elf-dressed girl who also wore a couple of antlers and a red shiny nose since she was Rudolph. "Seriously, can't you move faster, slowpoke?"

"Both of you are slowpokes! And quit complaining! We only have five seconds to finish with the deliveries! Santa always finishes before Christmas Eve ends all around the world." Wally explained, and everyone entered various houses, leaving presents below the trees, and in the end, they all crashed together when their respective visors lead the three of them to the same house, the last to receive a Christmas present, and they all ended doing a lot of noise upon crashing next to the Christmas tree. "Ouch! I mean, ho-ho-ho!" Wally mentioned upon seeing a girl arriving to the tree and seeing them all by the floor.

"Are you Santa Claus?" The girl wondered, and before her parents arrived, the trio vibrated toward invisibility. "Mommy! Daddy! I saw Santa Claus! He is no fat! He surely went on a diet! And I saw an elf and a bizarre-looking reindeer!"

"Bizarre?" A voice was heard, but then a wind made it out of the house, leaving behind a surprised family believing in a Christmas miracle.

**Keystone City, Kansas. December 25, year 2005.**

"Who is she calling bizarre? Next year this bizarre reindeer will give her some coal!" Iris complained once making her way back home. Once there, she found her would-be mother of 13 years old at the kitchen and preparing some turkey for breakfast. "Turkey! That's right! We didn't have a Christmas Eve dinner!"

"But I'm preparing a Christmas Breakfast for Santa Claus, the Elf, and the bizarre-looking Rudolph!" Linda added, and Iris just lowered her head at what was just said. "So. Did Santa finish all the deliveries?" Linda wondered, and got Wally kissing her as reply. "I will take that as a yes." She informed.

"Mexico, the United States, and Canada in only an hour, and we reached Samoa in time for the final delivery, but we were discovered by a girl there." And Wally sat by the table. "Unfortunately… I'm tired and only wish to sleep right now… I'm sorry Linda. After Christmas-breakfast I'm going to bed. Not sure if I will wake up in three hours or not, maybe five."

"Glad you got a hyper-metabolism then." She added with happiness. "Anyway, the turkey will take a few minutes to be ready, so how about we open our presents first?" And both Bart and Iris exchanged looks and then rushed toward the tree. "Let's see how cool are Wayne-Tech's presents!"

"I got a videogame! Yay!" Iris yelled with happiness. "Videogames! Videogames! Videogames! Thank you Santa Claus!" Iris added, and then she faced Bart as he opened his present. "What you got? What you got?"

"A remote control helicopter!" Bart added and took the helicopter out. "Yeah! I'm going to torture the neighbors with it! Or chase dogs with it! I wonder how high it can fly! Let's test it! Can we test it?"

"After breakfast if you still got energy left." Wally added while taking the Santa Claus costume off. "Let's see what I gave myself." He added and opened his present. "Cool! Justice League actions figures! I got Green Lantern and the Flash. Sounds like a bad joke."

"I got Wonder Woman and Supergirl!" Linda added cheerfully after opening her present. "Imagine what would have happened if a boy had opened this present." She continued making fun. "Well, Bruce Wayne placed a lot of effort into choosing the presents. But you guys should be more careful when delivering, we are four in this house, and there are five presents."

"Five? Not true! I personally delivered the presents here, and regardless of how tired I was, I only placed four presents down the tree." And Linda took from below the tree a purple colored present. "That's… not a present from Santa Claus." And Linda read the etiquette. It was actually the only present with an etiquette. "From Wally West, for Jinx?" He wondered.

"Aw, how cute! You actually bought me a present, Santa Claus." Linda added, and then she began opening the present, but Wally was worried, he never actually bought anything for Linda. "But I wonder, why using my supervillain name and not just Linda? Are you trying to get me mad, handsome?"

"Actually, Linda, I didn't… well… it's just I…" But then Linda took a white stuffed unicorn from the box, and a beautiful smile was drawn on her lips. "Umm… I give up… Merry Christmas… Linda." And the girl hugged her unicorn hard and then kissed Wally's lips with enthusiasm. "The unicorn type… I don't really get it, but I'm fine with this."

"Aw, don't play fool! It was a nice detail. I like it a lot, it's so cute! You will never allow me to forget the day you ruined my room at the H.I.V.E. headquarters, will you?" And Wally sweat dropped at that last. "Well, enough of remembering my criminal days. I'm taking the turkey out of the oven, so go to the table." And Linda walked away. Just then Wally faced his daughter.

"You did this, didn't you? It certainly wasn't Bart. He doesn't know Linda likes unicorns, much less that she used to be a criminal whose room I destroyed when we were enemies." And Iris moved her head in negation. "Truly? If it wasn't you then… who?"

"I don't know." Iris added. But then she lowered her head while smiling. "Hey… Dad… 20 years in the future… you actually told me and my brother Jai a story about you being Santa Claus… and a week later… I accidentally traveled to the past without knowing how it all ended…" and Wally smiled hard at that last. "Back then when I heard this story… you mentioned Rudolph was Bart's imaginary friend… and right now, the best Christmas present ever, is to know I was Rudolph in that story… and that Bart isn't totally crazy as to believe in imaginary friends." She admitted, and Wally smiled once again. "Merry Christmas, Dad!"

"Merry Christmas to you too… Rudolph…" He joked, and Iris hugged her father hard. "I'm proud of you, my little princess. Now, before Bart destroys the whole house with his toy helicopter, get the table ready." And Iris nodded and rushed to the Kitchen in order to help her would-be mother with the food. "So I told her the story about Santa Claus, eh? That's good… but I still have one doubt. Where did that unicorn came from?" Wally wondered and then took the empty present box up, and from it fell down a note. "What's this?" He wondered and then picked the note up. "From Santa Claus to Santa Claus… thank you for doing the deliveries this year. Keep up the good work and you will never have coal. Ho-ho-ho to you, and happy holidays. Now you are Santa Claus, make me proud. Yours truly, Santa Claus from his retirement house in Hawaii." And Wally blinked twice and read it all again. "Wait… WHAT?"

* * *

**Lol! I loved the ending, hahahahaha. At any rate, his name is Wally West, and he is Santa Claus, the Joyest Man Alive! I hope you liked the story. Send me a review with your thoughts about it. Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year!"**


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